


In These Ever Changing Times

by saekhwa



Category: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Black Character(s), Character Death Fix, Chinese Character, Darwin is Alive, Families of Choice, Interracial Relationship, M/M, Mutants, POV Character of Color, Team as Family, X-Men: Apocalypse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 12:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7050223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saekhwa/pseuds/saekhwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are two things Armando knows, even one death and twenty years later: he's an X-Man, and he'll always have Alex's back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In These Ever Changing Times

**Author's Note:**

> Five years later, guess who's still bitter? (Spoiler alert: me)
> 
> A million thanks to Moriavis for supporting my long, angry rants about Darwin and the X-Men movies in general, and a million more thanks to her for beta'ing and cheering me to the finish. Also, she's the bestest, and I have to thank her for geeking out with me in general about all of our fave mutants.

Armando opens his eyes. He expects the light to hurt or to maybe cause him to flinch at least, but his body does what it always does, and he doesn't have to shield his eyes as he takes a look around. He's outside, the sky that bright blue that always reminds him of summer, the breeze cool against his skin. 

And he's naked as the day he was born. 

Having Mystique's powers would be groovy right about now, so he can hook himself up with some new threads. When he turns to look for something, anything to cover up with, he spots Alex, just as naked but looking a hell of a lot older. And not to kick a brother while he's down, but Alex's new 'do wasn't doin' nothin' for him either. 

But he's alive. Looks like they both are.

Armando crawls forward, reaching out for Alex's shoulder. Alex's skin is so damn warm, so solid, that Armando's breath catches. So much time has passed—he knows that much, even if he can't tell how many. He can't figure out why he chilled for so long in…wherever the hell he's been all this time. 

He shakes it off, though, and focuses on Alex. "Alex." Doesn't even get a stir. He squeezes Alex's shoulder but still gets nothing. So he pushes Alex onto his back, puts his ear to Alex's chest, and prays, because if they're both alive, someone up there is listening. What Armando's listening to is the strong, steady beat of Alex's heart. "C'mon." He sits up and shakes Alex again. "Wake up, man."

They haven't been through all of this to lose each other now. 

He grabs Alex by his shoulders, jerks him up, and gives him a good, hard shake. Alex blinks, and just the hint of those pretty blue eyes makes Armando grin. Then Alex closes his eyes, head lolling forward, and Armando lightly slaps his cheek. 

"We're making progress. Don't give up on me now. C'mon." He smacks Alex's cheek again. "Let me see those pretty blues again. Look at me."

"St—" Alex weakly bats at Armando's hand, but Armando isn't going to stop until he gets coherent sentences and some awareness, some recognition. Alex turns his head away, and Armando worries he may have passed out again. Then he says, "Stop that," and Armando grins. 

"Not 'til you look at me."

Alex tries, Armando's gotta give him that. He's not giving up, opening his eyes halfway and then shutting them again. His head rolls on his shoulders like he's a newborn, but he raises his hand and Armando wonders if—hopes—Alex will touch him back. He doesn't. It only takes Armando a moment to figure out what Alex is trying to do when Alex squints, so he shifts, using his body to shield Alex's face from the sun. 

Alex groans, and Armando holds his breath, waiting second by second, until Alex opens his eyes and is able to keep them open. Armando stares down at him with the biggest grin he's got. 

Doesn't expect Alex's first words to be, "I'm dead."

Armando laughs, shaking his head. The laugh dies in his throat when Alex's face twists up, his eyes going glassy like he's about to cry. 

"No, man, you're alive," Armando says, and cups Alex's cheek to prove it, stroking Alex's cheekbone with his thumb. He wants to kiss this fool white boy right now, but Alex really is looking at him like he's a ghost. "We both are."

Alex's Adam's apple bobs, and then he surges forward so fast that Armando rears back on instinct, even though a part of him hopes Alex will lay one on him. Alex just grabs hold of his face, eyes darting back and forth so quick that it's hard to keep up with what might be going through Alex's head right now. Shock, probably. Disbelief a close second. 

"I watched you," Alex says, voice barely above a whisper but so damn raw that Armando's surprised he managed any words at all. "I—" He closes his eyes and shudders. 

He doesn't need to say anything else. Armando was there. He remembers. Maybe not what happened after Shaw and his crew showed up but definitely what Shaw did to him. 

So even though it's obvious, Armando covers Alex's hands, slides his hands down to squeeze Alex's skinny wrists, and says, "I adapted."

Alex digs his fingers into Armando's jaw and leans in real close but stops himself a breath shy of Armando's mouth, looking down. "Why the hell are we naked?"

Armando releases the tight breath he's been holding with a good belly laugh. "I think we blew up with that." He nods toward what's left of the building, and he doesn't know what could have taken down something so big. 

Alex turns to look, too, and his jaw drops, hands falling from Armando's face. "Scott." His face screws up again, and then he bolts forward, scrambling on his hands and knees toward the wreckage, feet slipping in the grass.

Armando lunges forward, grabbing Alex's ankle, only managing to get a hold of him, because Alex is moving forward in a panic, tripping and tumbling. Once Armando has a good grip on Alex's ankle, he rushes forward, landing on Alex's back until he can wrap Alex in a bear hug. 

He doesn't want to say it but Scott, whoever he is… "No one survived that, Alex. No one's alive."

It straight breaks Alex. He shudders, and then he howls, his grief manifesting rings of power that shoot toward the sky. Armando doesn't let him go.

~*~

Alex has gone limp in Armando's arms when they hear, "There's more survivors!" Armando looks up to see a girl with large hoop earrings and a bright yellow jacket jogging up. She skids to a stop and then makes a face. "And they're naked."

Alex jerks his head up from Armando's shoulder, pressing closer, but thank God their backs are turned to her and the rest of the kids now running up.

"Can one of you get us a coat?" Armando asks. "Pants? Something? And keep the other kids back."

The girl clutches her yellow jacket. "This is my favorite. Oh but!" She stops two of the kids from running forward and points back toward the house. 

Armando's pretty sure they're not going to find anything there, but the kids sprint off anyway while she corrals the rest of them, keeping them a safe distance away. Armando stays huddled against each Alex while Alex frantically looks at all of the kids. 

He scrubs his face and finally says, "Jubilee." She turns but then immediately looks up at the sky. Alex grimaces, hands tightening around Armando, but the question is there in his frown, the wild desperation that widens his eyes. "Where's Scott?" The words are ragged, his voice almost breaking on the O. 

"They took him." Jubilee shifts, looking around like she's afraid it might happen to them, too. "Him, Mystique, Jean, Kurt, Hank, and the other kid who saved us."

"Who took them?" Armando asks at the same time Alex says, "He's alive."

Jubilee looks between them and then turns when she hears a kid shout, "We found it!"

The kids hold up a sheet, and Armando grins, watching as they work together to tear it in half. It's gonna be ugly, but he and Alex don't have a lot of choices. He wraps his half of the sheet around his waist, using a couple of knots to secure it. Alex drapes his half of the sheet around himself like a toga. Then he immediately turns, facing Jubilee. 

"Scott. You saw him alive?"

Jubilee nods but then shakes her head. "I don't know. Some guy came in a helicopter and blasted us with guns. We woke up." She gestures at all the kids, huddling closer now that he and Alex are decent. "The school's gone, and we tried looking for Hank or Professor X but…" She shakes her head. "There's no one else."

Alex looks to the sky, jaw set in a hard line. Armando remembers that look, that resolve, remembers saying Alex's name as the cue to stop Shaw. 

Jubilee nods toward Armando. "So who's he?"

Alex twists, staring at Armando. He can handle his own introductions, though, so he steps forward, holding out a hand. "You can call me Darwin."

She shakes his hand with a grin and then introduces them to the rest of the kids. 

~*~

Armando expects the kids to go back home. They're all so young. But when he suggests it, even Alex looks at him and shakes his head. 

"They're scared of us," Xi'an says, holding her knees to her chest, looking even smaller next to the tree. 

"The home we've got"—Sam jabs a thumb over at the husk that's left of the mansion—"got burned to the ground."

Armando feels his chest go tight as he looks at all of them, so much younger than even Sean had been when Charles and Erik had found them all. 

"I have a place," Alex says, and glances at Armando. Then he looks at all of the kids, one by one. 

With limited time, resources, and about twenty scared and confused kids, it's not the best plan but it gives them all some direction. As they board the bus, they hear Charles in their heads. It means he's alive. The grin they all share quickly fades, though, as they take their seats, the message sounding more and more ominous until Charles says, "Protect those without."

It's a great message. It means Charles is still on the good side of this equation. That doesn't stop a couple of jackasses on the bus from voicing their opinions about mutants and this new threat. Armando keeps an eye on the kids, but they try to avoid contact, all of them hunching forward as if looking to each other for solidarity will give them away.

So Armando takes Charles' message to heart, starting right here, right now. He turns and glares at one white dude who's especially vocal. "No one wants to hear your crap," Armando warns.

"It's a free country. I'll—"

"Keep quiet and ride this bus where you gotta go. _Peacefully_." He shifts forward, knowing Alex has his back, because dude's gaze flits from Armando to Alex and then to everyone else now staring. 

He hunches in his seat, muttering something under his breath, but Armando lets it go. He looks at the kids, meeting each one of their wide-eyed stares with a grin. 

When trouble runs, the only way it seems to run is deep, but he and Alex aren't gonna leave these kids out in the cold. 

~*~

They walk up to a two-story house with a white picket fence, exhausted and the kids still skittish. 

"Look who else is rich?" Jubilee mutters, and she and Julio share a laugh that lightens the mood for the rest of the kids. Armando turns, and they freeze, but he winks at them, and they grin back. 

He looks at Alex and sees a white woman answer the door. Her eyes widen as she grabs Alex's shoulders, demanding, "What's going on? Where's Scott?"

He suddenly understands who Scott is and why Alex was so torn up about his loss. Armando wants to believe the kid is alive, but with Charles' message and the news they picked up on the way here, the future's not looking bright. 

"Mom," Alex says, and nods toward the dude standing behind her. "Dad. We need your help."

~*~

While Alex handles his parents, Armando takes care of the kids, starting with some makeshift pallets in a few of the rooms upstairs that Alex's mom said they could use. 

"So the plan is to have a sleepover?" Jubilee asks as they lay down some blankets on the floor.

"I don't know." Armando thanks Julio for the pillows, and they lay them down on each pallet. "Only came back to life a day ago myself." 

Jubilee and Julio share a look and then shake their heads at the same time. 

"This is weird," Julio says, dropping to the floor. 

Jubilee nods. "It was easier living in the mall. They had good nachos."

It's Armando's turn to stare, because how does a kid live in a mall? Jubilee responds with a shrug and pops her gum. He leaves her and Julio alone to check on the other kids. Some of them are already asleep, others lighting candles and whispering. 

Armando grabs some extra pillows and returns to find Julio sitting cross-legged on the floor and Jubilee sprawled on the bed, both of them flipping through books they obviously aren't reading. All the kids are spooked by Charles' message, the blackout, the lack of any concrete news they can even react to. They need a distraction. 

"Hey," he says to get their attention. They both look up. "You seem pretty hip." He gestures at Jubilee's clothes, her obvious sense of style. "And I need to catch up on the last twenty years. Wanna help a brother out?"

Jubilee immediately sits up, her entire face lighting up so bright that Armando thinks he sees a few sparks. A shake of his head clears his vision, though, and he sits down on the floor to get schooled. His first history lesson starts with all the music he's missed. Jubilee's so animated about the tragedy of Armando missing out that it gets the attention of some of the other kids. Every single one of them's eager to share their hobbies, and Armando learns a lot, but more importantly, they learn a lot from each other, banding together through their common interests. 

~*~

By the time the kids have all passed out, it's late, the whole house hushed and dark. Armando heads downstairs to look for Alex. He finds him in the living room, smacking the side of the TV as if that'll get it to work. 

"It's not a pinball machine," Armando says. 

Alex whirls around, lighting up the room with his power. He draws it back, and Armando grins, because Alex controlling himself is one of those big things that's changed. 

"Darwin," Alex says, with a raw edge that leaves him rooted to the spot. 

"Didn't mean to scare you."

Armando takes a step closer, expecting Alex to meet him halfway, but Alex darts a look around like he's trying to find an escape route. So Armando stops. 

"I just wanna know. You and me." He watches Alex's shoulders draw up. "What's the plan?"

Alex shakes his head and then moves to the couch, falling so heavily that the couch creaks. "I don't know. I'm not a teacher or a-a—" Armando slowly steps forward, drawing just close enough that he catches what Alex murmurs under his breath. "Leader."

"You weren't teaching at the school?" Armando asks, even though he knows the answer. In all the stuff the kids shared, Alex definitely wasn't one of them. 

Alex shakes his head, so Armando takes another step forward. "After—" He can't tell if Alex is looking at him or somewhere else. "I went off on my own. Tried looking out for Scott, but he thought I was a freak." Alex's laugh is soft, and Armando's inched close enough to the couch that he takes the empty space besides Alex. Alex tenses, but at least he doesn't move away. "Then I enlisted because…"

Armando stays quiet, so he doesn't spook Alex. It means they sit in silence for a few minutes until Alex shifts, turning toward him. 

"How are you alive?" Alex asks. 

Armando shrugs. "Wish I knew."

Alex doesn't say anything, and since Armando doesn't have anything to add, the tense silence returns. It's eerie, too—being in a house this quiet. Armando's almost relieved to hear the creak of the floorboards, something that lets him know all of them are okay and alive. 

"Darwin," Alex says, soft and tight, like he had to struggle to get it out. 

Armando waits for more, but Alex doesn't move. "Pretty sure the world's about to end." He laughs. "Again."

He grins, but Alex doesn't laugh and won't look at him either. His eyes are shut. It's late, and even though Armando's not tired, he figures Alex probably wants to be left alone. He had hoped Alex wanted some company but…

Armando shifts to stand and then suddenly, Alex bowls him over, crushing him with a kiss. His whole body's at a weird angle, but he rolls with it, shifting his weight, tilting his head up as he wraps his hand around Alex's hip. Alex doesn't ease up one bit, too desperate or hungry or both. 

It's good, the kiss so damn sweet after years of nothing, and in the back of Armando's head, he remembers Alex naked, lean muscle, tanned skin, warm and breathing. Alex slides a knee between his legs, and he arches, shoving a hand underneath Alex's shirt. 

His head rings when they hear a creak and freeze. They both glance toward the stairs but don't see any of the kids—or worse, Alex's parents—wandering around. Doesn't matter, though. The mood's been killed, but Armando laughs, cupping Alex's face before he can run away from this. 

"Hey," Armando whispers, and pauses to kiss Alex again. "We're coming back to this, 'cause I'm not going anywhere. You got that?" He seals that promise with another kiss, giddy when Alex melts against him, still desperate, still clutching his shoulder so tightly that he can feel his skin adapt to it. 

~*~

"Alex!"

Alex jerks, sitting up so fast that he elbows Armando in the face. "Shit, are you okay?" Alex hisses, grabbing Armando's chin, tilting his head up. 

Armando laughs. His nose doesn't even sting. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Go."

Alex glances at the door, looks at Armando, but nods, tugging on a shirt as he sprints out the door. Roberto groans and smothers his face with a pillow. 

Alex's mom calling his name didn't sound like a panicked cry for help, so Armando takes a moment to stare at the ceiling, praising his mutation, 'cause he doesn't have a twinge or even a crick in his neck from laying on this hard floor. He sits up, though, because he's curious and wants to make sure everyone's all right. 

He shuffles out the door and hears, "You're alive!"

When he looks over the banister, Alex and Scott are hugging each other tightly, their mom crying as she grabs Scott and squeezes him, her shoulders shaking. 

~*~

The question of the year is how. How is any of this possible? How did they make it out alive? How much trouble are mutants in after this latest world-ending event?

Scott tries to explain, but the other kids keep interrupting, and he's too nervous, delivering the details in disconnected bursts. 

"Jean saved us," he says at the end of it, and turns toward her. 

She tucks her hair behind her ear, shaking her head. "We all worked together."

When Charles rolls up, bald as a globe, they get the full story. In the end, it's pretty simple: they saved the world against the first mutant. It means that mutants have been around for a while, for centuries. 

"Wild," Jubilee says, and pops her gum.

~*~

Armando sits on the front lawn with the rest of the school, his fingers tangled with Alex's as they watch Erik and Jean work their magic to rebuild the school. 

"I could do this in two seconds, you know," Pietro says. 

"Not with that leg you can't," Jubilee says, and pulls the cap off a marker, drawing what looks like a star on his cast. 

Armando looks up when Charles appears beside them. "Thank you both," he says, and nods toward the kids. "For keeping the children safe."

Alex nods, but the look in his eyes is distant. When he looks at Charles, his eyebrows are drawn together, mouth a thin line. "How are we both alive?" He darts a look at Armando, tightening his fingers around Armando's hand. 

Charles looks between them but shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Alex. I don't know. Armando's mind reveals nothing that I can access. I suppose…" He looks forward again, and they watch Jean add the roof to the right side of the mansion. Armando doesn't miss the way Charles' gaze skirts toward Erik and then slide toward Jean and the kids playing on the lawn. "We must accept that the world is full of miracles."

Armando can see Alex about to argue, and he tugs Alex's hand. When Charles heads toward Erik and Jean, Alex turns to him. "Miracles? You really believe that crap?"

Armando shrugs and instead says, "Come here."

Alex frowns for all of two seconds, and then he leans in. They share a kiss, right out in the open, their breaths in sync. Maybe Alex doesn't believe, but Armando does. All he has to do is look at the house to see the sturdy foundation they're all building together.


End file.
